Alfred and Arthur's Infinite Playlist
by three-days-late
Summary: AU. Alfred receives a message from his English lover. In return, Arthur receives one from America. Warnings for fluff, so much fluff...
1. Side Alfred

**This is something I wrote a while ago when I had a really bad day and need some fluff. There's a response too that I'll post tomorrow sometime probably.**

**The pairing is USUK, the song is "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White Ts, the lyrical changes were (poorly) made by me. I suppose a warning for song fic and fluff. So very much fluff.**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

Alfred Jones sighed as he slunk back into his apartment, tired and beat. His job sucked, school was killing him, and his lover was still on the other side of the ocean. In fact he hadn't seen Arthur in…months. Skyping just wasn't cutting it, not since Arthur's schedule changed and he hadn't been able to get on as much anymore; he missed his irate Englishman.

Sighing, Alfred shuffled through some of the mail on the table, mostly bills but as a nice surprise, also a letter from England. He and Arthur exchanged daily e-mails, but it was sort of sweet that the Brit decided to yell at him the old fashion way. Except inside the envelope wasn't a letter, but a CD. Curious, Alfred dug out his computer and popped the disc in.

When it loaded, the American was met with the sounds of what he assumed to be Arthur playing his guitar. Alfred knew his lover could play guitar, not that he'd ever let him listen for some reason. This was confirmed when his Englishman came in with the vocals:

"_Hey there Alfred  
What's it like in New York City?  
I'm a thousand miles away  
But boy, tonight you look so pretty  
Yes you do  
Times Square can't shine as bright as you  
I swear it's true_,"

Alfred blinked and stared at his computer for a bit. Arthur was singing him a sappy love song. A sappy _American _love song. It was strange, and very un-Arthur like, leading Alfred to suspect Francis had a hand in it. And yeah, he owned a radio, so he'd heard the original song, but could Arthur really not find another word that rhymed with city?_  
_  
"_Hey there Alfred  
Don't you worry about the distance  
I'm right there if you get lonely  
Give this song another listen  
Close your eyes  
Listen to my voice, it's my disguise  
I'm by your side_,"

He chuckled at the corniness of the whole thing, but ended up leaning closer to the computer anyway so he could hear Arthur's voice better.

"_Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me,"_

"He acts like he's completely blameless," Alfred muttered to no one, "Does he have any idea what he does to me?"

"_Hey there Alfred  
I know times are getting hard  
But just believe me, boy  
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar  
We'll have it good  
We'll have the life we knew we would  
My word is good_,"

Arthur's words painted a picture in Alfred's mind of a time in the future, maybe, when they can be together for more than a few weeks at a time, where Arthur could be a traveling musician and Alfred could join the circus…before he could ponder further, the next verse came on._  
_  
"_Hey there Alfred  
I've got so much left to say  
If every simple song I wrote to you  
Would take your breath away  
I'd write it all  
Even more in love with me you'd fall  
We'd have it all,_"

"You didn't even write this one," he muttered and looked away from the computer, not wanting it to see the blush slowly creeping on his face, still a little reluctant, even after all this time, to admit just how hard he'd already fallen. It was ridiculous to think he could be even more in love with Arthur than he already was._  
_  
_"Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
_  
_A thousand miles seems pretty far  
But they've got planes and trains and cars  
I'd swim to you if I had no other way_,"

Alfred had to chuckle at the thought of a sopping wet Arthur swimming across the Atlantic just to see him, gentleman persona completely abandoned in favor of his lovesickness. Unlikely, but still, it's the thought that counts.

"_Our friends would all make fun of us  
And we'll just laugh along because we know  
That none of them have felt this way,"_

He thought of his friends, Kiku and his brother Matt, who in their subtle-yet-not-so-subtle way pushed him to take a chance on Arthur, and how, in a similar manner, they suggested giving up on him when he had to go back to England.

"_Alfred I can promise you  
That by the time we get through  
The world will never ever be the same  
And you're to blame_,"

"Again placing all the blame on me," Alfred told the computer, "You're the one who came in and messed around with my life…" not that he was complaining. In fact he thanked whatever greater powers there may be for the day he met Arthur.

"_Hey there Alfred  
You be good and don't you miss me  
Two more years and you'll be done with school  
And I'll be making history like I do,"_

"A bit late for that," Alfred sighed. He already missed him to damn much, two year wait already seeming like forever.

"_You'll know it's all because of you  
We can do whatever we want to  
Hey there Alfred here's to you  
This one's for you,_"

It better be for him. If it turned out Arthur met some other Alfred in England and accidentally sent this to him instead, not even an ocean would be able to stop the American's wrath. Although just the thought of him and Arthur being able to do whatever they wanted quelled any unnecessary thoughts of rage right there.

"_Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me._"

The song ended with Arthur testing his vocal range a bit and hitting some pretty high notes as well as some lower ones, which made Alfred think he was just showing off. Immediately after it finished, he clicked the play button to listen to the song again, and again, and again.

Alfred was sure he could find a sappy British love song and a guitar on the internet somewhere…


	2. Side Arthur

**And here's part two of your epic overdose of fluff. The pairing, naturally, is USUK. The song is "**All You Need is Love**" by the Beatles. There is a warning for AU, songfic, and so much fluff. Fluff for everyone!**

**Enjoy.  
**

* * *

Arthur Kirkland slammed the door to his apartment shut and shook the raindrops off of his umbrella, leaned it against the door, slipped off his shoes, grabbed the mail on the nearby table, wandered to the couch, and collapsed on it to pilfer through his mail. Mostly bills, which were saved, junk mail, and letter from Francis that he immediately tossed aside, but there was also a letter from America that, upon opening, was actually not a letter, but a CD.

It had been months since he reluctantly followed Francis's suggestion and sent that song to Alfred, but the lad had never mentioned it in any of their phone calls or e-mails, so he had just assumed that it had (thankfully) been lost in the mail. It seemed that was not the case, however, and that Arthur had just received a response.

Curiously he popped the disk into the laptop on his kitchen table and was shocked to discover that there were three songs on it instead of just the one. Arthur knew Alfred wasn't that musically inclined, but was willing to put up with one song, because he, you know…cared about him, but if he had to listen to him ruin three perfectly good songs…

He sighed and hit play anyway.

"_No seriously, I can do this," _he recognized Alfred say to someone.

"_Since when have you been able to play the guitar?_" Matthew, his twin brother, responded.

"_Gilbert's been teaching me so I can do this for Arthur. Well, he at least taught me what to do at the end. Want me to show you?"_

"_Wait! Al! Put the guitar down! That's expensive!"_ there was some static, then the next song on the CD started. Arthur made a mental note to tell Alfred to buy his brother a new guitar next time they talked. Sometimes the boy could be utterly ridiculous in the name of love, or actually, he could just be plain utterly ridiculous.

"_I don't see why I can't be George,_" he could hear Alfred pouting even on the CD.

"_You almost broke the guitar,_" scratch that last mental note then, "_I'm not letting you near it again._"

"_If you're not letting me near the guitar can I be Ringo? Gilbert's been teaching me drums too."_

"_Gilbert can't play drums."_

"_Okay I made that up, but how hard can it be? I mean, you're just hitting stuff, and I can do that! Here watch."_

"_Al, give me the drumsticks…"_

"_No it's cool, I got this…"_

"_Al!" _more static, and Arthur was left to wonder just what that boy was up to, before the next song started.

"_Hey Arthur!_" and he could _hear_ the sunshine, warmth, and love radiating off of him, "_So, for some reason Matt won't let me near any of the instruments, so we got Roderich and his musician friends to do that. I'm the one singing though, and it's still my idea!"_

"_I thought you said he did it first?" _a voice that Arthur recognized as their friend Roderich asked.

"_Yeah, but it was my idea to do a response. And shut up. Anyway, I hope you like it Arthur, I think you know this song…"_ he heard the microphone be adjusted before the band started playing, and Arthur did indeed know the song, even before the backup came in with their "_Love, love, love_."

He…he didn't actually…

"_Love, love, love._"

Yes, it would appear he did…

"_Love, love, love._"

Out of all the songs the boy could have chosen, he picked the one about that emotion that Arthur still had trouble admitting he might possible have. Typical Alfred.

"_There's nothing you can do that can't be done,_" Alfred sang, and Arthur had to give him points for not even trying for the British accent. It was also much better than his Lady Gaga in the shower, to Arthur's delight.

"_Nothing you can sing that can't be sung,  
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game_.  
_It's easy._"

He always did manage to make everything seem so easy, Alfred that is. Taking their relationship up a step? No problem. Falling in love? Piece of cake. With an ocean separating them? No worries Artie, we've got this.

"_Nothing you can make that can't be made,  
No one you can save that can't be saved.  
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.  
It's easy."_

"Easy for you maybe," Arthur grumbled as he left his seat and wandered to the stove to make some tea, "You with all your sunshine and happiness and hope. Some of us live in the real world." That is, until someone full of sunshine, happiness, and hope manage to save them from the real world and taught them how to be themselves. Maybe it was that easy.

"_All you need is love,  
All you need is love,  
All you need is love, love,  
Love is all you need._"

As much as he hated to doubt the Gospel of Beatles, it took a bit more than love to get by.

"_Love, love, love,"_

And the song should stop trying to convince him otherwise.

"_Love, love, love,_"

No matter how good that guitarist (he assumed Roderich, for although the man loathed to step outside of classical, Arthur knew he could rock an electric guitar if he wanted to) is.

"_Love, love, love…_"

Bollocks. Stupid hope, why is it so contagious, even when its source is an ocean away?

"_All you need is love,"_ Alfred started singing again, and Arthur found himself paying closer attention as he waited for the water to boil.

"_All you need is love,  
All you need is love, love,  
Love is all you need."_

It better be, because in long distance relationships that spanned two different continents, that was all there was.

"_There's nothing you can know that isn't known,  
Nothing you can see that isn't shown,  
There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.  
It's easy."_

"Git," Arthur muttered affectionately as his tea kettle whistled, causing him to turn around and poor it into his cup along with the bag. He needed to be in London, Alfred needed to be in New York, but Alfred always insisted that they were meant to be together no matter what, and eventually their location would reflect that. The only difference is he now had a song to back it up.

"_All you need is love,  
All you need is love,  
All you need is love, love,  
Love is all you need."_

"Love is all you need," he found himself softly singing along with the last line, actually believing it since the first time he heard the song. Idiotic boyfriends will do that to a guy.

"_All you need is love_," Alfred sang as Roderich took it upon himself to shout the "_All together now,_" which earned a chuckle from Arthur. He'd have to send him a thank you of some kind for all the help he was giving for Alfred's spontaneous production.

"_All you need is love, (Everybody)  
All you need is love, love  
Love is all you need…"_

Alfred kept repeating that last line, as if to drive into Arthur's head that yes, love was all they needed. His backup echoed it to prove his point, and someone (again, probably Roderich, as his expertise went far beyond strings) played out on the trumpet solo, adding his own certain flair to the improv portion.

As the music died down, Arthur heard Alfred's distinct chuckle break through the noise.

"_Hahaha! See, I told you we could do it in one take! Matt, you got that right?"_

"_Yes Alfred, I got it."_

"_Good, now that that's settled, can you please,_ clear out of my studio_!"_

"_Right Roddy, hey thanks to you and your friends for helping me out here. Thanks you guys!"_

There were several shouts of "_You're welcome," _"_No problem," _and _"Anything for you lover boy" _before Roderich snapped and kicked Alfred and Matt out of his studio once and for all.

"_So, you'll do the editing and make sure none of that other stuff is sent to Arthur, right?"_

"_Don't worry; he'll only hear what he needs too…"_

The CD ended after that.

Arthur couldn't help but smile to himself as he sipped his tea. Alfred was one of a kind that was certain. When he wasn't being a complete idiot, Arthur liked to think he was lucky he somehow managed to catch the boy's eye, and even luckier he managed to keep him this long. Not exactly thinking clearly, he pulled out his phone and dialed the first number on speed dial.

"_Dude it's like 2AM!"_ an irritated Alfred shouted on the other end.

Oh yes, there's a time difference. It must have slipped his mind. "Sorry about that love. I'll call later."

"_Arthur? Wait no, s'cool. 'M awake. What's up?"_

"Nothing worth losing sleep over. Get some rest."

"_N-no_," he heard Alfred yawn, "_'M not tired at all._"

"I-I just called to say," stupid git, making him blush from his idiocy from an ocean away, "Thanks."

"_No problem babe. I do it all for you,_" he sleepily muttered into the phone.

"You haven't the faintest idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"_Not a clue,_" another yawn, "_Love you._"

"I Love you too. Now go back to sleep. I'll call you at a more reasonable hour."

"'_K. Miss you._"

"I…miss you too."

"_G'night Artie._"

"Good night Alfred."


End file.
